


I'm not pulling for you, you're just pulling at me

by scribbletea



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Leads the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Role Reversal, Shuake Week 2020, Valentine's Day, White Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27616798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribbletea/pseuds/scribbletea
Summary: Shuake Week 2020 - Day 3: Role Swap & Chocolate“Do you mind if I stand and chat with you?” he continued. “Even if I did, it’s not like I could ask you to leave, it is a public train after all” Akechi says, not even trying to hide his mild annoyance. Kurusu laughs loudly, “Oh Akechi-senpai, have you ever considered becoming a comedian?”
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60
Collections: ShuAke Week 2020





	I'm not pulling for you, you're just pulling at me

_“Shibuya. This is Shibuya Station.”_

The subway car doors open noisily and a throng of people spill out onto the crowded Shibuya platform. Akechi shifts his school bag on his shoulder, using it as a shield of sorts as he pushes through the crowd. The car is cramped, as per usual, so he grabs the nearest straphanger and prepares for the long ride home. He doesn’t notice until it’s too late that he’s squeezed between two couples who are excitedly discussing their date plans. 

“We’re having a picnic and then renting a swan boat at Inokashira park! What about you guys?” 

“Oh, that sounds lovely! We’re heading over to Cedros right now, and after we’ll probably see a movie.”

“Wow, lucky! That place has been booked for Valentine’s Day reservations for weeks!”

Akechi pretends to check his phone to avoid showing his distaste. He never understood the pomp and circumstance surrounding Valentine’s Day; it was just another excuse for companies to take advantage of consumers and put impossible expectations on a single day. Akechi already had enough unrealistic expectations, finding the time to relax on his cot after a particularly stressful day of school was one of them. He’s just about to put his earbuds in to avoid hearing the rest of the couples’ conversation when someone shouts something.

“Akechi-senpai!” 

Akechi quickly flicks his head up from his phone at the sound of his name, and the couples beside him begin to murmur. He glances around for the source until his eyes land on someone hurriedly rushing to board the train, a stack of small boxes balanced precariously in his arms. 

_Oh great, it’s him_. 

“Detective Kurusu” he sighs as the other uncomfortably squeezes next to him on the crowded train car and flashes him a charismatic smile. The doors click shut behind him and the train moves to life under their feet with a low rumble. “Please, like I’ve said, just call me Kurusu,” he says cheerfully, “Do you mind if I stand and chat with you?” he continued.“Even if I did, it’s not like I could ask you to leave, it is a public train after all” Akechi says, not even trying to hide his mild annoyance.

Kurusu laughs loudly, “Oh Akechi-senpai, have you ever considered becoming a comedian?”. The movement of his laughter causes one of the boxes he's carrying to fall from atop its pile. It hits Akechi in the eye on its way down.

“ _Ouch_ ,” he hisses.

“Are you alright?”

Akechi bends over to pick up the box. It’s wrapped neatly in pink wrapping paper adorned with small hearts, and there’s a note attached to it. _“Kurusu ♡”_ it reads.

Akechi’s face feels warm and his chest tight; he hurriedly snatches the box from the ground and thrusts it into the other boy’s hands.

“I see you’ve had an eventful day,” Akechi says, trying to maintain his composure, he doesn’t know what came over him. “To say the least,” Kurusu says; he adds the box back into his pile with the rest “And these are just from school”.

“What are you going to do with them all?” Akechi finds himself asking, but he doesn’t know why; why should he care what Kurusu does? 

“Well, I’ll read all the thoughtful notes of course, and eat as many as I can out of respect. But I’ll probably give all the rest to friends or family” he says easily, smiling to himself. “I see,” Akechi trails off, unsure where to take their conversation from here. He doesn’t know Kurusu all that well; he had only just met him a couple of weeks ago after the class field trip, and their interactions since had been limited to the occasional chance meeting either to or from school or when the detective stopped by LeBlanc for a cup of coffee. Should he ask if there was anyone he was hoping to get chocolates from, or hoping to give chocolates to?

“Senpai,” Kurusu says, pulling Akechi out of his rumination, he looked up to meet the other’s eyes. “Did you get any Valentine’s chocolates this year?” he asked with an innocent smile and Akechi’s heart suffered a minor hiccup. Just where did Kurusu get the gall to tease him like that? Especially after flaunting all his chocolates, was he trying to rub it in? 

“No,” Akechi bristles.

“Really?”, Kurusu looked genuinely surprised, a flash of something Akechi couldn’t quite decipher flickering in his expression, which puzzled him. “Why are you surprised?'' Akechi is about to ask until the subway car slides to a halt and the metal doors open again with a _fwwwssh_.

_“Ikejiri-ohashi. This is Ikejiri-ohashi.”_

“Ah, it looks like it’s my stop,” Kurusu says, looking out the door as the other passengers file out. “Thank you for entertaining me Akechi-senpai” he continues, turning back to Akechi with another charming smile. “Uh, sure,” Akechi replies, unsure of what to say. Kurusu gives him a polite wave as he disembarks and the doors slide back shut. Akechi can’t help but stare at the closed subway door, his bewildered reflection staring back at him through the glass window.

_Just what was that guy’s deal_?

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

“Have a good day,” Akechi huffs out wearily as the customer leaves the shop, the bell jingling as the door swings shut behind them. His ponytail comes loose as he reaches for the abandoned coffee cup on the counter but he doesn’t bother to fix it, instead he begins to wipe the glazed ceramic with a damp rag.

The bell jingles again, signaling that someone has just entered. Akechi musters his best smile, if he’s asked to draw one more heart in someone’s latte he might just throw it back into their face. “Welcome to LeBlanc, what can I get you today-” he starts, looking up from the cup to look the customer in the eye, mahogany meeting familiar charcoal.

“Kurusu-kun?!” he found himself exclaiming.

The detective just smiled at him, as if he was enjoying Akechi’s shock. Wasn’t seeing him once already this afternoon enough? And now here he was standing in his home, Akechi couldn’t catch a break.

“You sound surprised to see me,” He says.

“I wasn’t expecting you to see you again today, that’s all” Akechi answers a bit too defensively, what was Kurusu doing here?

“After our run-in on the train I wanted to give you something”. From behind his back he pulled out a slender red box patterned with thin gold lines that curled in elegant flourishes. Akechi fought to keep his face from slipping into a grimace. “Thank you,” he started politely, and Kurusu opened his mouth, probably ready to go into a whole spiel about how he ‘didn’t mind’ and that ‘it was the least he could do’ but Akechi spoke first, “but I don’t want your fan’s chocolate as sympathy”.

Kurusu stopped mid inhale, his mouth hanging open in surprise. Akechi regarded him somewhat scornfully. Whenever he thought he could consider Kurusu one of his very few confidants he was fiercely reminded how Kurusu didn’t know him at all. He didn’t want pity, especially not from him. He had been pitied his whole life. 

The other blinked, mouth still agape for a moment, before he closed it and straightened his posture, clearly recomposing himself to prepare for what he’d say next. He cleared his throat, “Akechi-senpai,” he said, his voice an octave lower. “These aren’t chocolates from my fans, they’re for you”. 

“Huh?”

Akechi looked back down at the box. Kurusu deposited it on the table and Akechi brought it closer to himself to inspect. His name was scrawled in fancy script on a tag attached to the neat ribbon. Akechi looked back at Kurusu, his confusion must have reached his face because Kurusu began to explain.

“I made them”

It was Akechi’s turn to be slack-jawed. He looked down at the box, then at Kurusu, then down back at the box again. “Why didn’t you give these to me earlier?” he asked, avoiding the most pressing question on his mind. “I wasn’t expecting to see you on the train this afternoon, plus,” Kurusu paused to fake pout,“I spent a lot of time making them,”. Akechi felt his face getting warm; he studies the intricacies of the box’s pattern, pointedly avoiding Kurusu’s gaze. “They’re milk chocolate, I know you’re fond of sweet things, even though you try to hide it. I considered adding coffee to it but I figured you must be tired of the taste by now”. Akechi was caught off guard by Kurusu’s attentiveness, he didn’t expect Kurusu to pay much mind to a nobody high school student like him.

“But that still doesn’t answer-”

“Answer what?”

Akechi’s throat felt tight.

“Why?”

Kurusu looked confused, but relaxed into another one of his signature grins. “Isn’t it obvious? I like you, Goro Akechi”.

If Kurusu says anything after that Akechi doesn’t register it because his heart is beating so loud in his ears, that it’s hard to hear his own thoughts, let alone form a coherent response.

“So,” Kurusu starts, a light color dusting his cheeks. “Do you accept?”, he asks, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and peering up through his eyelashes. Akechi senses a touch of timidness in his question, a word he would’ve never associated with the so-called detective prince.

“Uh,” Akechi says intelligently, feeling thrown for a loop; his mind was still racing to catch up.

“Ah- Y-yes,” he stumbles out, “Yes, I accept” he answers before he even realizes what he’s saying, mouth on autopilot. Kurusu’s eyes widen for a moment but then they soften, and he relaxes into an easy smile, but it’s different from the ones he gave him on the train; he looks incredibly pleased which makes Akechi’s chest twist traitorously.

“I’m relieved,” Kurusu says. Akechi tries to brush off the feeling in his chest as he lifts the lid of the box slightly, peeking inside. “How do I know you didn’t spike these with wasabi?” Akechi jests, but when he looks back up at Kurusu he’s no longer there; the bell above the door jingles and Akechi turns toward the sound, but Kurusu has already disappeared.

Akechi blinked in bewilderment for a moment, before turning his attention back to the box on the counter. Akechi fully lifts open the lid now, surveying its contents. “Ahem,”

Someone clears their throat behind him. Sae steps out from the back room and Akechi feels heat immediately rush to his face.

“Did you hear all that?” he asks, mortified.

“Uh... not much.” she says, “Was that the Kurusu kid?”

“Yea,” Akechi trails off looking back into the box. The heart-shaped chocolates are slightly misshapen but that kinda makes them more endearing. Even Kurusu isn’t perfect, he supposes, despite the flawless image he maintains. A slip of paper sticking out from under one of the chocolates catches Akechi’s eye; he plucks it out and unfurls the neatly folded lined paper. _Call me ♡_ it reads, followed by a string of numbers. Sae’s head pops up over his shoulder. “What are you looking at?” and in a panic Akechi shuts the lid, embarrassed.

“It’s nothing!” he says, unconvincingly. Sae gives him a look that says as much but nevertheless, she retreats to the back of the shop without saying anything more. When he’s sure she’s gone Akechi unfolds the slip of paper in his palm and melts into a smile, ducking his head to hide his grin.

For the first time he’d admit to himself, he was hoping to run into Kurusu again soon.

**Author's Note:**

> It lowkey physically pained me to make Akira call Akechi senpai but you know he'd do it just to make Akechi mad.  
>   
> TYSM TO MY FRIEND VICTOR FOR BETAING ILU. [Check out his stuff, or else](https://archiveofourown.org/users/izooleo). And a big thank you to my friend Esha for beta reading as well, ILU. I owe my inspiration for this to [thedeerus](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/thedeerus)! They got me obsessed with swap au in the first place with their amazing art so you should check them out!! Also I didn’t see this until I had already finished writing this but sicklyjelly [also has a very cute Shuake valentine comic that u should read...](https://sicklyjelly.tumblr.com/post/626170218694279168/what-if-we-took-the-final-deadline-and-pushed-it) we were on a very similar wavelength skdfjd.
> 
> A note on my version of the AU!  
> \- I swapped Sae with Sojiro because I read somewhere that Sae was one of the considerations for Akira’s guardian so I felt it would be fitting for her to take in Akechi in the swap au (plus, I want Akechi & Makoto petty pseudo sibling rivalry can u blame me).  
>   
> If you got this far tysm for reading!! :D. I have a couple more shuake fic ideas but only time will tell if I have the motivation or time to finish them.  
> Hmu on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/scribbleteas) & [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/scribbletea) if u want! I love making new friends :D


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